Road To Recovery
by Starzangel
Summary: The road to recovery nobody said it would be easy. A collection of short fics about Daniel's return written before I read all the spoilers for Season 7, so kind of AU. COMPLETE
1. Guardians

ROAD TO RECOVERY

Starzangel

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Title: Road To Recovery

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Author: Starzangel

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Disclaimer: Sadly, none of _Stargate SG-1_ is mine. I only borrowed the concept and characters to have fun (but gain no profit) writing this story, which _is_ mine.

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Archive: If you're not FanFiction.Net, then please ask first via submitting a review (leave your email address & I'll get back to you).

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Note: This is a collection of short fics that lead on from where my other story, 'Fallen Angel', ends. ('Fallen Angel': Daniel returns. A story inspired by 'Full Circle' / loosely based on the start of season 7.) 

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Stargate SG-1:

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Road To Recovery

By

Starzangel

1.

GUARDIANS

Summary: Teal'c watches over an ill Daniel.

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Guardians

Daniel Jackson almost totally blended in with the starched white sheets. Strands of light-brown hair stuck to his forehead and beads of sweat glistened in the dim light. His eyes moved restlessly behind their closed lids, pain lines deepened and his grey lips parted in a weak groan.

A tall, broad-shouldered, dark-skinned figure stood at the end of Daniel's bed, his hands clasped behind his straight back. The grim-faced Jaffa swallowed and slowly shifted his weight from one foot to the other, wishing he could ease his friend's suffering. 

Movement caught the edge of Teal'c's vision and he turned to the doctor, a silent plea on his face that would have seemed emotionless to all but those who knew him.

Dr Fraiser shifted her gaze from her patient to acknowledge Teal'c's look. Tiredly, she slipped from her stool in front of the computer she'd been working on and crossed the SGC infirmary to the drugs cabinet. The doctor drew up a top-up dose of painkiller into a syringe and went over to Daniel's bedside.

Janet pressed a palm against Daniel's hot forehead and he stirred slightly. Her face troubled with empathy, the doctor injected the drug into the intravenous drip tube. The medication coursed through Daniel's circulatory system and he quietened, falling back into deep, healing sleep.

Janet Fraiser placed a comforting hand on Teal'c's arm for a moment, before going back to her paperwork.

Standing rigid, Teal'c remembered the time not so long ago when the situation had been reversed. He had lain in that bed recovering from the ill-effects of sharing his symbiote with Bra'tac, which had almost killed all three of them. Daniel, still an ascended being but in Human shape, had appeared beside the bed. Teal'c knew that if it were not for Daniel aiding him through his dreams while he lay at Death's door on a muddied beach littered with dead Jaffa, he would probably have crossed the threshold. Daniel had been his guardian through that time, as he had been for O'Neill when he was repeatedly tortured to death and revived by Ba'al. Now Daniel was in need and it was Teal'c's turn to be the guardian.

Above Colorado Springs the sky darkened as the sun slid below the horizon, but far down within Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Teal'c remained at his post watching over Daniel.

~ End ~


	2. Tribulations

2.

TRIBULATIONS

Summary: Jack helps Daniel find a new apartment.

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Tribulations

"Why did you sell my apartment again? You knew I wasn't dead this time, only ascended."

"I seem to remember it appearing to be a one-way trip."

Daniel sighed and stared out of the Jeep window as it cruised down the freeway. He knew he shouldn't blame Jack, in fact he should have been grateful that O'Neill had stored his belongings, and he was, it was just…another problem.

Jack O'Neill obstinately concentrated on the road, trying to ignore the rattle of the pill bottle as Daniel pulled it out of his jacket pocket. The cap clicked around and popped off, then Daniel tipped a capsule out onto his palm and slipped it into his mouth, unscrewed an almost empty bottle of water and washed the drug down.

Deciding to take it easy on the poorly spacemonkey, even if Daniel was adept at driving him nuts, Jack swung the Jeep off the main road into a housing estate. On the far side of the estate, Jack pulled up in front of his house.

Daniel staggered painfully up the driveway, holding his healing cracked left ribs. Jack silently helped him up the step and over the doorframe.

Halfway to the sitting room, Daniel leant unsteadily against the wall.

"Jack, I feel sick," he mumbled, then suddenly a hand flew to his mouth and he shot into the lavatory off the hallway.

Jack O'Neill stood in the doorway, his face tense with concern, as his friend retched into the bowl of the toilet.

"It's the painkillers," Daniel explained, wiping his mouth on a handful of loo roll. "I'm going to have to ask Janet for something else."

He gripped hold of the sink to pull himself up from his knees. Then cried out in agony in response to a burning complaint from his ribs and Jack sprung forward to catch him.

O'Neill, along with the sink, supported the younger man as the pain almost reduced him to tears.

"Easy, Danny, easy," Jack soothed, rubbing his friend's back.

Daniel ran a shaky hand through his hair and carefully straightened up, finally letting go off Jack and limping slowly into the living room, as was the original plan.

"Would you like some water?" Jack asked, as Daniel eased himself down onto the sofa.

"That'd be great, thanks."

As Jack went to the kitchen, Daniel took off his glasses and rested his head against the back of the seat. He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to squeeze out the growing headache.

Daniel sat up to accept the glass when Jack returned and sipped the cool liquid gratefully.

"So where have you kept all my stuff?" he asked.

"Most of it's in the garage." O'Neill jangled the keys as he held them up.

Daniel set down his drink and followed Jack back out onto the drive.

Leaning against the Jeep's bonnet, Daniel watched Jack slide up the garage door, squinting from the glare of the sun. Inside an assortment of boxes and plastic crates rose in neat stacks up to the ceiling and covered all the available floor space.

"I thought you said you sold all the furniture."

"I did."

The archaeologist's eyebrows flew upwards. "I didn't know I had so much."

"Oh, yeah." Jack grinned sardonically. "You've got quite a collection of rocks and books."

Daniel bit his lip and drummed his fingers against the bonnet. "I'm going to need a removal van."

"Yeah."

"Hmm. So do you want to look at this place on Kingsfield Road?"

"Sure." Jack used his remote key ring to unlock the Jeep. "Hop in."

Daniel winced his way into the Jeep, while Jack locked up.

The apartment on Kingsfield Road had a great view from the balcony and spacious rooms, and a serious case of damp. Then Arrowcross Way offered a large hole in the floorboards that revealed the bathroom of the flat below. However, it was third time lucky with apartment 4-2 on Hethbury Avenue.

As Daniel signed the contract and began to fret about buying furniture and hiring removal companies, Jack realised how much strain the past four hours had put his friend under.

This was all old hat; they'd done it before. Hell, the last time there had been a service, wake and everything, only for Daniel to turn up alive after all. But Daniel was hurting, physically and emotionally. Everything was a trial, something he had to fight to overcome so that things could be the way they were before he left. Only nothing could ever be the same again. But that didn't mean it had to be bad.

Once back in the Jeep, Jack turned the key in the ignition while Daniel stared glumly at his bottle of pills wondering if taking another one was worth the risk. Jack was about to push down on the accelerator when he noticed a tear trickle down Daniel's exhausted face. He paused, then cut the engine.

Daniel turned away, letting his suffering slide down his pale cheeks.

Jack O'Neill wasn't one for voicing sentiment or indulging in heart-to-hearts, but he made a slight exception for the man who was one of his best friends.

"It'll get easier, you'll see," he reassured. "Some things may have changed, but not everything."

"Thanks, Jack." Daniel turned to face him, swiping at his wet eyes with both hands. "I'll remember that."

O'Neill started up the Jeep again and took the weary Daniel back to Stargate Command.

~ End ~


	3. Displacement

3.

DISPLACEMENT

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Summary: Daniel Jackson is Human again, but things have changed since he ascended. Will five be a crowd? Does Daniel still have a place in SG-1? What about Jonas?

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Displacement

Daniel: "Is that my stuff?"

Jonas: "You weren't using it anymore."

– 'Full Circle'.

Dr Daniel Jackson limped along the corridors of Stargate Command deep below ground level. His sore ribs were bothering him as he grew tired. The bruised muscles around the newly healed bones pulled with each step.

He didn't need this, damn it! He didn't need problems late at night. Who the hell did this Jonas think he was?

Stepping over the threshold into the office that was once solely his, but he now had to share with Jonas Quinn, he was pounced upon by the excited man, waving a sheet of A4 paper at him.

"I've found this photocopy of an ancient parchment. It appears to refer to the city of the Ancients," Jonas told Daniel. "Can you translate it?"

"Probably." He took the paper from Jonas.

"The lost city," Daniel read, "holds the many treasures of those who left the earth and rose to the heavens…etc, etc." He sighed. "We know all of this already."

"Sorry…I…" Jonas mumbled, crest-fallen. "Thanks for your help, Dr Jackson."

"Anyway, shouldn't you be in bed?" Daniel asked, frowning. "I thought SG-1 were going off world in the morning."

"Yeah, we are," Jonas confirmed. "But it's only… Oh, shoot! Is that the time?" He stared at his watch in horror. "Thanks, Dr Jackson, thanks again."

"No problem," Daniel said, as the other man hurriedly made a lousy attempt to tidy up the books he had been using. Under his breath he added, "It's not as if I have anything better to do."

Daniel walked into the briefing room to find the members of SG-1 playing poker at the table.

Sam looked up and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Daniel!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here? We thought you'd gone."

"I-I came back," Daniel stammered, noticing that Teal'c was wearing a sky-blue baseball cap with "Go Away!" printed in large red letters across the front.

"Well, pull up a chair then, Spacemonkey," Jack said with a sweeping arm motion.

Daniel looked around for a seat, but there were only four around the table and he couldn't see any more.

"I don't see one," he said, going to the door and looking out into the corridor.

"Guys, I…" His voice trailed off as he turned back to find the room empty.

"Lord Daniel," a mocking voice called from behind him.

He turned again and found Jonas staring straight into his face. Daniel had met enough Goa'uld in his time to know the look of evil when he saw it. What he saw in Jonas's expression unnerved him.

Daniel gulped. "Jonas, I'm sorry if I –"

"I was just starting to fit in," Jonas said, cutting Daniel off and pushing him in the chest, "and then you turned up."

"I…I…" Daniel became distracted by a bright white light that appeared behind Jonas.

The other man laughed cruelly and shoved him into the light.

Daniel found himself surrounded by darkness with a small flickering candle at his feet offering the only illumination. Voices floated through the thick shadows, echoing and merging together.

"He's dangerous!"

"A loose cannon!"

"A rebel!"

"Cast him out!"

Terrified, Daniel spun around, his eyes trying to pierce the unyielding dark.

"No!" he cried. "No! Help me!"

"You must be punished!" a forceful voice told him.

"Nooo!" Daniel wailed. "Don't do this!"

Daniel found himself in a corridor back at Stargate Command. SG-1, Hammond, Dr Fraiser, Major Davis, Sergeant Davis and an assortment of other airmen that he knew only by sight advanced menacingly towards him. They each swung a copy of the Eye of Ra necklace in front of them as if to hypnotise him.

Jonas was leading the group.

"Didn't they want you?" he taunted.

Daniel backed away from them. His back touched the door to the gateroom and it slid open. He stumbled in backwards.

"Well, that's funny 'cause we don't want you either."

Behind Daniel the stargate span and one by one the chevrons engaged.

"Chevron seven locked!" Sergeant Davis's voice announced.

But there wasn't the usual formation of the wormhole with its unstable _kawoosh_ before it settled into a shimmering blue pool. Daniel stared, afraid, into the empty ring as the earth began to shake. Dust fell from the ceiling, people shouted in alarm.

Fixed to the spot, Daniel could only raise his arms to pointlessly shield his head and scream as the 'gate fell crashing down on top of him.

Daniel Jackson sat up with a start, his sheets sticking to his sweat-soaked skin. Breathing heavily, he snapped on the bedside lamp and ran a shaking hand through his hair.

*

After watching SG-1 go through the stargate to explore the alien planet that lay in wait at the other end of the wormhole, Daniel miserably reported to the infirmary for a check-up.

Topless, Daniel sat waiting impatiently for Dr Fraiser to finish.

"Can I return to active duty yet?" Daniel asked, gruffly, as she noted down his heart rate and blood pressure on his chart.

"Do you feel physically fit enough?" the doctor asked in response, knowing full well that he didn't.

Daniel winced as Janet began strapping up his ribs again with thick support bandages.

She took his silence and obvious discomfort as an answer.

"I didn't think so."

*

"Where's my Old English dictionary?" Daniel asked, annoyed, lost in a heap of books. He looked up and frowned. "Wasn't that bookcase over there before?"

"Uh, yeah. I moved it," Jonas told him, a hint of guilt in his expression.

"I can't find anything!" Daniel cried, exasperated. "Why did you change it all around? My system worked fine."

"You had a system?" Jonas asked, in disbelief.

"Yes, I had a system," Daniel replied, indignantly.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Fuming, Daniel turned away and stormed towards the exit.

Twisting at the open doorway, Daniel suddenly grunted in pain and his hand shot out to grip the doorframe. He hunched over, grabbing at his wrenched ribs.

"Hey, are you ok?" Jonas asked, concerned. He approached the archaeologist. "Daniel?"

The pain slowly eased and Daniel straightened up.

"I'm fine," Daniel said, brusquely. He glared at Jonas to stay back and left the room.

"Dr Jackson!" the SGC librarian cried in shock. "I heard you were dead!"

"Well…I'm not." Feeling a conflicting mixture of embarrassment, annoyance and amusement, Daniel pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Do you have a copy of the Oxford Old English Dictionary?"

"I think so," the Air Force-trained lieutenant said, forcing herself to stop gaping. "I'll go look."

"Thank you."

The young woman with her long brown hair pulled back and clipped neatly to her head, got up from behind her desk and disappeared down the aisles of books.

"No, I can't see it…" she said, a few minutes later, returning from her search. The slight frown cleared from her pretty forehead. "Oh! I remember now. Jonas Quinn checked it out earlier this week. He couldn't find his own copy." She laughed. "He keeps meaning to organise his office."

"Does he now?" Daniel's eyebrows rose and a slight grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.

Daniel regarded coffee as a godsend – the caffeine kept him awake. But unfortunately its powers didn't stretch as far as to stop major headaches, like the throbbing one he had then.

It was a little after midnight and Daniel was in the office he shared with Jonas Quinn. Scrolling down the text on the computer screen in front of him, he obstinately trying to ignore the worsening ache at his temples. Without taking his eyes from the screen, Daniel reached to his left and picked up a well-used book, recognising it by touch. He flipped it open with one hand and turned his gaze towards it. He hurriedly found the dog-eared page he wanted and scanned down the small print with the aid of a forefinger. His finger came to a stop and tapped the page twice, then Daniel's attention focused on the computer again. His left hand placed the book back on the desk, and blindly reached for another.

When his hand failed to locate the desired text, Daniel was forced to divert his eyes from the screen. Frowning, he searched through the muddle around the computer. Coming up bookless, Daniel sighed heavily and twisted around to survey the rest of the room.

He spotted 'Lost Cities' to his right on the table behind him. Shifting his body into a better angle in his chair, Daniel stretched out an arm towards it. A sharp pain stabbed through his side causing his arm to pause. However, refusing to allow himself to do more than wince, Daniel firmly grasped the book.

Unbeknown to Daniel, Jonas had looked up from his own research to glance at his colleague. What he saw made his forehead crease with concern.

"Dr Jackson, are you alright?"

"Fine," Daniel mumbled, turning to face the computer screen again. The archaeologist denied his head the acknowledgement that the ache at each temple had steadily grown until meeting in the middle of his forehead. 

Daniel cross-referenced the relevant passage in the book with the text on the computer screen. Plonking the book down over the computer mouse, he pulled a ballpoint pen out from under the irregular pile of books that half covered it. He scrawled a few lines on the ruled notepad in front of the keyboard, unconsciously rubbing his forehead with his left hand as he did so.

"Daniel, are you sure you're alright?" Jonas asked, still keeping an eye on him.

"Yeah," he replied, absently.

However, when the pen came to a halt, Daniel realised that his other hand was massaging his temples and sighed wearily. He tossed the pen down and pressed both hands against his head for a moment.

Dropping his hands, he looked back at the computer screen. The text on the screen swan in front of his exhausted eyes. Daniel took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, then replaced them again. The words were now still, but remained blurred. He picked up the mug beside him and a groan escaped his lips upon finding it to be empty.

Daniel used the desk to push himself to his feet and headed for the coffeemaker on top of the metal cabinet near the door.

He moved too sharply and quickly. His ribs screamed in complaint, burning furiously. The room spun wildly and his head whirled even faster. The mug slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor. He fell against the table, clutching his side.

Daniel was dizzily aware of Jonas at his side and easing him back into the chair. With trembling fingers he removed his glasses, and then with his elbow bent and resting on the desk, he pressed his forehead into his palm. All colour had drained from his face and beads of sweat dampened his hairline.

"Ouch," Daniel muttered with understating sarcasm, as his head cleared.

"Maybe you should take it easy," Jonas suggested, gently.

"Yeah," Daniel agreed, wearily. "I'm gonna turn in and get some sleep."

He gave Jonas a wan smile of thanks and stood up, with more care this time.

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It should have been me, Jonas thought not for the first time, as he watched Daniel's departing back.

He didn't know if he'd ever be able to fully get over his guilt. The nightmares had started up again now that Dr Jackson was back. Almost every night, he woke up sweating and screaming, having relived the Naquadria accident yet again.

Jonas let out a troubled sigh, rubbed his eyes and turned back to his books.

*

"Off world activation," the technician on duty shouted over the top of the alarm. "Receiving a code…it's SG-4, Sir."

"Open the iris," General Hammond instructed.

The metal slats slid back, revealing the wormhole contained within the huge metal ring of the stargate. Shortly afterwards, the four members of the expected SG team stepped out of the shimmering pool onto the ramp.

Suddenly another form burst through the 'gate. The creature had the appearance similar to that of a jellyfish and emitted a high-pitched squeal as it flew at high speed around the room and then shot out of the open door.

"What the devil is that?" Hammond demanded into the microphone linked to the gateroom.

"It's from the planet, Sir," SG-4's commanding officer said, activating the other end of the communication line. "It isn't hostile or sentient, but its skin secretes an acidic fluid."

"A frightened, wild animal is a dangerous thing," General Hammond mused, unhappily, and reached for the telephone fitted on the wall.

Shifting the load in his arms, Jonas knocked on the grey door of Daniel's SGC quarters.

"Come," called a distracted voice from within.

Jonas opened the door and found Daniel sat cross-legged on the bed, his back against the wall. His laptop computer was open in front of him, books and papers were scattered across the bed and a notebook rested on his knee.

"I found the texts you wanted," Jonas spoke up.

"Thanks. Put them over there." Without looking up from his work, Daniel gestured towards the crowded desk with his pen.

"Let me know if you need anything else."

"Hmm."

Jonas bit his lip, looking down into his tormented thoughts. Taking a deep breath, his expression cleared into resolution and his gaze shifted back up to Daniel.

"Look, Dr Jackson, I – "

Suddenly an alarm blared all around the lower levels of Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

General Hammond's tense voice came through the intercom. "There has been a security breach. This is not a drill. An alien life form is loose within the base. All personnel, take shelter in a room and shut any doors. Do not try to apprehend the alien. I repeat, take shelter, do not approach the creature."

"I guess you're stuck here for a while then," Daniel said to Jonas. He motioned towards the haphazard heap on his desk. "There's some coffee in the pot."

"Thanks," Jonas said, rummaging around until he found the coffee and a cup. His eyebrows raised in surprised approval at finding the beverage still relatively warm.

Sipping the drink, he straddled the desk chair.

"Dr Jackson."

"Yes?" The archaeologist looked up, detecting seriousness in Jonas's tone.

"I'm sorry," Jonas said. Quickly, he rushed on, "I'm sorry about the Naquadria incident, I'm sorry about taking your place in SG-1 and using your office and your stuff, and –"

"Stop," Daniel said, holding up a hand. "There's no need to apologise." He pushed the laptop out of the way and slid to the edge of the bed. "I know what you've done and what you've been willing to sacrifice for Earth, for SG-1. You're a good man, Jonas." He smiled, wanly. "I'm just having a little trouble readjusting, that's all."

"I understand," Jonas told him. "I'm finding it hard too…knowing what you _did _sacrifice for Kelowna, people you didn't even know. You did what I didn't have the strength to do."

"You've more than proved yourself since then," Daniel insisted.

They were silent for a moment, allowing the foundations of a bridge to form between them.

"Coffee?" Jonas asked, finally. "It's still warm."

"Please," Daniel said, getting up to bring his empty mug over.

That night, for the first time in over three weeks, both Daniel and Jonas slept peacefully.

~ End ~


	4. Ready For Action

4.

Ready For Action

Summary: Dr Fraiser clears Daniel Jackson for duty.

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Ready For Action

The young man sat on the side of the infirmary bed in front of her swung his legs back and forth under him in an almost childlike fashion. His blue eyes stared at the open doorway, glazed with distant thoughts.

His waiting ears caught the dim rumble of the stargate powering up at once. Dr Janet Fraiser knew Daniel Jackson well enough to be able to read into his faraway look. 

In his mind's eye he was stood at the base of the ramp leading up to the shimmering blue event horizon of the wormhole that would take all who stepped through it to an alien world of excitement, discovery and perhaps danger. He saw his friends walk up to the 'gate, dressed in green combat gear with the SG-1 insignia badges on the upper sleeves. Jack slipped dark shades over his eyes, Teal'c altered his hold on his staff weapon, Sam casually shifted her P-90 into a more comfortable position and Jonas relieved an itch behind his ear. Then with a quick wave to all those personnel watching, O'Neill calmly lead his team through the stargate, leaving Daniel stood alone in civilian clothes to watch the wormhole flash into rapid dissipation.

Dr Fraiser tactfully coincided Daniel's medical assessments with SG-1's embarkments whenever she could. So as to save him from having to really watch them leave him behind, and also, secondarily, as a precaution against the unlikely but possible event of him running after them on a sudden impulse.

Daniel sighed heavily and his eyes slid back into lazy awareness. He fiddled with the glasses in his lap, subdued and waiting for the doctor to finish taking her measurements.

Dr Fraiser strapped a cuff around the firm biceps of the arm he raised with the manner of someone who had repeated the same motion more times than either of them cared to remember. Releasing his arm, Janet took a pen from her pocket and noted down his blood pressure of 120/80 next to his resting pulse rate of 60bpm, below the similarly fit results from a week before.

Next she examined his torso, which two months ago had been swollen with angry, dark, black-blue bruising with cracked bones underneath. Now the flesh was a healthy pale peach with only a few smudges of fading yellow-brown here and there. The nicks from the shattered glass and scrapes from the road had fully healed leaving few scars. Yet she could still recall the sight of his frail, broken body lying in the hospital bed when she had seen him for the first time for just over a year. Going beyond that to the last memory of him before his ascension was too painful for words and had haunted her dreams for months afterwards. She hadn't been able to save him, if it had not been for the spiritual alien, Oma, he'd have died and gone for good. That was an 'if' that still drew a lump to her throat.

She prodded his ribs, applying precise pressure to test for pain and remaining damage. The darker places produced the slightest tensing of his jaw and chest muscles only noticed by the trained eye, and the faint discomfort was alleviated at once upon the release of pressure. No problems there.

"Ok, Daniel, you can go," she told him.

He gave her a faint smile and slid off the bed, as she handed him his shirt.

"As long as your blood comes back clear, I'll inform the general that you're fit for duty."

The smile changed into a wide grin and his thick eyebrows rose with pleasure and slight surprise. He had become so used to routinely reporting to the infirmary that he hadn't seen an end to it. He picked up the small pile of books that had accompanied him and left with his shoulders lifted a little from the bored slouch that had descended upon him recently.

Dr Fraiser, also smiling, went to her desk to finish Daniel's medical record sheet. After a few minutes, a nurse came into the doctor's office to deliver a piece of paper. Janet thanked her, took the sheet and scanned down the printed blood results with a practised eye. After double-checking to be safe, she happily ticked all the negative boxes in the allotted section on Daniel's form. Then she pulled the computer keyboard closer to write a report for General Hammond.

She filled in the patient details at the top of the template before typing in what she knew the general would be glad to read.

__

I am pleased to report that Daniel Jackson is fully fit both mentally and physically.

She quoted some medical statistics as evidence, then summed up the blessedly short report. Daniel was now well, pure and simple.

__

I give Dr Jackson the all clear to return to active duty.

She printed off the report, slipped it into a presentation folder with his latest medical record sheet and blood results. Then with a pleasant expression of calm joy on her face, she got up to take the folder to Hammond herself.

~ End ~


	5. This blank page

5.

This blank page

Summary: Daniel has to write a report for General Hammond.

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This blank page

Daniel Jackson stared at the blank page in front of him.

Never before had a report been so difficult – no make that impossible – to write. The fountain pen fidgeted impatiently in his hand, dripping blue ink onto his fingers.

For three hours he had sat at his desk, the 'organised chaos' (a.k.a. muddle) pushed back to give him a clear space to work. Every so often, the pen dipped, it's nib heading for the paper. The tip would almost reach the destination it yearned, but then it always froze before sliding away to observe the empty sheet from afar again.

Daniel had stared at the desk lamp, the spinning SGC logo of the computer's screensaver, the rows of books on the shelving, the wooden cat-shaped idol from P2X-975 and the floor. He'd even stared an imaginary window into the wall. But none yielded any inspiration.

He had a PhD in linguistics for goodness sake! Why was this proving to be so hard?

General Hammond wanted the report handed in by 2 o'clock, before he reviewed him for reinstatement. If the general didn't receive it, his evaluation would be postponed until he had. Dr Jackson would be like a kid in detention for not doing his homework, only allowed out to play when it was done. Daniel sighed, raising the pen so that he could chew on the lid. He'd been given this task weeks ago, but had put it off and waited until the day of the deadline to reluctantly attempt it. 

The hands on the clock had ticked around their circuit again and again, yet still nothing was written. How did he put into words what he didn't even know himself? How could he explain what he didn't understand?

Suddenly, it came to him. He would just have to start with what he did know, and that was that he didn't know.

Decisively the pen sprung into action and ink scrawled across the paper.

__

I do not fully understand all that has happened. 

I began a journey on Kheb that led to my ascension into another form of life, the form I later learned to be the current state of the Ancients, the race that created the stargate. Upon reaching the threshold of death after receiving a lethal dose of radiation on Kelowna, Oma Desala (the Ancient SG-1 encountered on Kheb and the guardian of the Harsesis child) came to present me with the choice of ascension. Ultimately, I chose to abandon Human existence and enter a higher-plane of being.

Whilst in ascended form I was bound by the law of the Ancients not to interfere with other forms of life. However, when Anubis (since discovered to be caught between mortal and ascended form) threatened Abydos with annihilation, I found myself unable to stand back and watch. Upon attempting to take action, the others removed me from the scene. Luckily, Oma was able to guide the doomed Abydonians to ascension. Yet, she was unable to prevent them from forcing me back into Human form. Though, of this I am frankly relieved. Having the power to help but being unable to is a great burden to carry.

The manner of ascended form is impossible to explain. It was something that can only be comprehended when in that state. I have retained few memories of the past year, remembering only interactions with this plane of existence and having only distorted fragments of the knowledge I gained. The only useful residual is my ability to read the Ancients' dialect with greater fluency than before.

There is nothing more I have to tell. I wish I could offer some exceptional power to rid the universe of its many evils, not least the Goa'uld and Anubis. But I have none. All I can offer is my mortal services as before and my undying determination.

Daniel read through what he had written and then sat back.

Not the usual style of report he wrote for official records, he mused. But this situation was even stranger and unique than anything else he'd ever faced involving the stargate.

Sliding off his stool, he went over to the computer to rapidly type up his unconventional report in the five minutes that remained.

~ End ~


	6. Reinstated

6.

Reinstated

Summary: General Hammond assesses Daniel for reinstatement.

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Reinstated

General George Hammond finished reading the report Dr Jackson had handed in scarcely a minute before the deadline. No doubt it had been hard for him to write, the general mused sympathetically. Though he had lightly chastised the archaeologist for almost failing to be punctual.

Dropping the sheet of paper so that it drifted down to join the other reports scattered over the dark wood surface of his desk, George Hammond steepled his fingers and went over what he had read in his mind.

Dr Fraiser had certified Jackson to be back to full health, and O'Neill, Carter, Teal'c and Jonas had all requested that he be assigned to SG-1. Then there was Daniel's own report. The archaeologist had put down his capabilities and talents with typical modesty. He was clearly disappointed and almost downright apologetic that he had retained barely any knowledge of his time spent ascended.

George Hammond shook his head in wonderment. This from the man who had worked out how to use the stargate!

Dr Jackson was the leading archaeologist, anthropologist and linguist at the SG base. A place in the flag team was the only position worthy of his abilities.

Yet, the general gave a troubled sigh.

Part of him wanted to protect Daniel, wanted to protect all of them, from the horrors beyond the 'gate. He would bury the giant ring beneath tons of rock, only he knew that would be the worst thing that could be done. The enemy wasn't restricted to 'gate travel, they would come in ships, great motherships that would blast Earth into smouldering ruins.

No, they needed the stargate to get out into the universe and do what they could to protect their home and assist the many other inhabited planets needing help. And Hammond needed to send out the best people to do that task. Daniel Jackson was one of those people.

Daniel had suffered greatly from being part of the Stargate programme, not least by losing his beloved wife. However, if it had not been for that first mission to Abydos, he would never have even met Sha're.

Jonas Quinn had partly filled in the abyss left by Daniel's departure. The Kelownan was a good man and a quick study, who had proved himself to be invaluable. However, SG-1 still needed Daniel. Having both Jonas and Daniel on the team was as close to predetermined success as could be found in this dangerous and unpredictable game.

After stacking the reports into an impeccably neat pile, the general used the intercom to call the waiting Dr Jackson and Colonel O'Neill into his office.

General Hammond leant back in his leather chair and watched them enter.

The light-brown haired, young man stood formerly before the general's desk. Through their glasses his sharp blue eyes nervously tried to read behind Hammond's impassive expression. More relaxed, the colonel stood off to one side. Jack knew that really there was no question mark hanging over his friend's reinstatement. Daniel was fit and eager to return, and they needed him, period.

General Hammond's mouth curved into a warm smile.

"Dr Jackson, it gives me great pleasure to reinstate you as a member of SG-1."

~ End ~


End file.
